Vegetable slicer



Dec. 11, 1934. J. F. RYAN VEGETABLE SLICER Filed Dec. 20, 1933 INVENTOR.

Mag/22w ATTORN s.

Patented Dec. 11, 1934 UNITED STATES? VEGETA LE; SLICER John E. Ryan,San Francisco, Califl, assignor to Neway Specialty ManufacturingCompany, San Francisco, Galifi, acopartnership consisting of John F-Ryan and 13. R, McGrath Application liccembcr 20, 1933, Serial No.703,191

4. Claims.

This invention relates to a vegetable slicer.

The object of the present invention is to generally improve and simplifythe construction and operation of vegetable slicers; to providea slicerof the character describedwhich is adaptable both for home andrestaurant use; to provide a slicer wherebyvegetables, such as potatoes,and the like, maybe quickly sliced into a plurality of elongated stripsto form a product commonly known as shoe string potatoes; to provide aslicer which may be quickly'clean-ed; and further, to provide a knifewhich maybe quickly removed.

The invention is shown by way of illustration in the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the slicer.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective viewof the product obtained.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the sheer showing it placed on the tablein position for use.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section of the sheer showing apotato'or'likevegetable placed in position to be sliced.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View showing the man ner in which the slicer isused.

Referring to the drawing; detail, and par ticularly Figs. 1 and 3, itwill be seen that the slicer consists of a frame which, in thisinstance, is constructed of a heavy" piece of wire. Thewire is bent toform a handle section a pair of side arms 3-3, and an end or cross arm4. The side arms are bent upwardly; as i'ndicated at 5, to produce-araised end and this end forms a support for a slicing knife generallyindicated at 6. This knife, as shown, extends crosswise of the frame. Itis corrugated throughout its length and the ends of the knife arehook-shaped, as indicated at '7, to rest on the raised portions of theside arms 3.

In order to form a support for a vegetable, or other material to besliced, and also for the purpose of holding the knife in cuttingposition, a plurality of spaced wires, such as indicated at 8, areemployed. In the present instance these wires extend from end to end ofthe frame, the ends of the wires being secured to clips or plates 9 and9a secured to opposite ends of the frame. The clips are provided withhooks 10 on their under sides over which the wires are wound, thuspermitting a single strand of wire to be wound back and forth to formthe support indicated at 8; the free end being finally wound about oneof the clips and inserted under another clip so as to secure the same.

Due to the fact that the side arms 3 are bent upwardly, as indicated at5, the end supporting the clip 9 will be raised so as to permit thematerial, when out, todrop in under the knife on the table, or othersupport provided, as clearly shown at 11 in Fig. 5. Due to the raiseprovided the wires will assume an inclined position as clearlyillustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. This is important as it provides meanswhereby the knife 6. is held in position when inserted. To insert the.knife, it is placed in the dotted line position indicated at 6a. It'isthen pushed forwardly against the offset portions 5 and upwardly overthe same and as the knife is. pushed forward the clips will enterthecorrugations and exert a downward pressure on the knife, thus holding itsecurely in position when it engages with the end clip 9. To remove theblade it is merely necessary to grasp it and pull it rearwardly and,when this is done, the knife, is quickly released for cleaning, repairs,sharpening, or otherwise.

In actual operation it will be noted that the handle 2 is provided witha clip 12. having a downward projecting member 14. This functions as astop and engages the outer edge of a table 15,

see Fig. 3, when the slicer is placed in position for use. When sopositioned the operator will grasp the handle with one hand, as shown inFig. 5, and the potato, or other vegetable to be sliced, will be graspedby the other hand; It will be placed on the wires 8 and it will then bemoved longitudinally of the wires and forwardly against the corrugatedknife 6, the forward edge of which is sharpened as indicated at 16; Whenthe vegetable comes in contact therewith and forward motion is continuedV-shaped grooves will be cut in the bottom of the potato. When the firstseries of strips are out off the bottom of the potato, it is lifted andplaced rearwardly of the knife and on top of the wires. When so placedthe wires will engage the bottoms of the grooves cut in the underside ofthe potato as indicated at 17, see Fig. 4. This is an important feature;that is, every time the potato, or other vegetable, is moved over theknife a grooved surface will be formed on the underside of thevegetable, and when the vegetable is lifted up and placed rearwardly ofthe knife for a second operation, the wires will always enter the cutgrooves and enter the bottoms thereof. The importance of this willreadily be appreciated when Fig. 4 is more closely inspected, as it willthere be seen that the high points of the corrugated surface, andindicated at 18, will thus be aligned with the high points 18 of thecorrugated knife; hence when the potato, or other vegetable, is againwill be square in cross section, see Figs. 2 and i;

On the other hand the corrugationsmightbe wavy or half round and, inthat case, the final product would be circular in cross section. Plainlyspeaking, every time the Vegetable is moved over the knife a series ofelongated strips will be formed having a cross section the lowerandupper half portions of which correspond to the I shape of one of thecorrugations in the knife. The slicing of the vegetable into strips isquickly accomplished as the operator can move the potato,

or other vegetable, with a reciprocal movement back and forth over theknife with a rapid motion and when the operator is through with theslicing operation, the slicer is quickly cleaned by merely removing theknife and holding it under a faucet and washing the wires and the framewhich are all exposed and accessible, thereafter the knife may bereplaced as previously described and the whole operation of cleaning iscompleted, there being no nooks or corners in which any materialcan'gather.

In actual practice the slicer is ideal for forming a product commonlyknown as shoe string potatoes. It is equally applicable to carrots andother vegetables and it may obviously be employed for slicing fruit,such as apples, pears, and so on. By reversing the device from theposition shown in Fig. 3, that is, turning it upside down, the wires maybe employed for slicing boiled vegetables and fruits, such as boiledbeets, eggs, and so on. Hence, it has many uses and has proven of greatutility for the housewife and maid and it has also, proven of greatutility in smaller restaurants, and so on.

While certain features of the present invention are more or lessspecifically described, I wish it understood that various changes may bere-.

sorted to within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, that thematerials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as the.manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. A vegetable slicer comprising an elongated frame, a plurality ofspaced wires extending from end to end of the frame and forming asupport and guide for a vegetable to be sliced, a knife dis posed at oneend of the frame and positioned crosswise thereof, said knife presenting'a verti- Cally-corrugated cutting edge with the major portions of thecorrugations disposed above the wires to slice the vegetable into aplurality of strips when the vegetable is moved longitudinally on thewires against the knife, a handle on the frame whereby it may begrasped, and a stop member at the inner end of the handle and.engageable with a support upon which the vegetable slicer is placed andwhen engaging said sup- I port securingthe slicer against endwisemovementJ 2. A slicing: device comprising an: elongated rectangularshaped frame having a raised port ion at one end, a plurality of spacedwires extending from end to end of the frame and disposed on an anglewith relation to the frame, and a slicing knife extending crosswiseofthe raised portion of the frame, said knife being inserted between theframe and the Wires and being held against the frame by pressure of thewires against the upper surface of .the knife.

3. A slicing device comprising an elongated rectangular shaped framehaving a raised portion at one end, a plurality of spaced wires eX-tending from end to end of the frame and disposed on an angle withrelation to the frame, and a Slicing knifecorrugated substantiallythroughout its length, said knife being placed on the raised portion ofthe frame and crosswise thereof between the frame and the wires so as tobe held on the frame by pressure of the angularly disposed wireson theupper surface of the corrugated knife.

4. A vegetable slicer comprising an elongated frame, a plurality ofspaced wires extending from end to end of the frame and forming asupport and guide for a vegetable to be sliced, and a knife disposed atone. end of the frame and positioned crosswise thereof, said knifepresenting a vertically corrugated cutting edge with the major portionof the corrugations disposed above the wires to slice the vegetable in aplurality of strips when the vegetable is moved longitudinally of thewires against the knife.

JOHN F. RYAN.

